Enrique Gomez, 15, male, Hispanic/Latino, was shot just after 3:10 a.m. on September 1, 2025, in the 8200 block of South St. Louis Avenue in Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood. He and a 43-year-old man were struck by gunfire; Gomez was hit in the head, while the man sustained a graze wound to the nose. First responders took both to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where the man was listed in good condition. Gomez’s injuries were grave from the start.
Doctors fought to keep him alive through the week, but the damage could not be undone. Four days after the shooting, at 9:16 a.m. on September 5, he was pronounced dead, a Labor Day weekend wound turning into a family’s worst loss. His name joined the city’s somber rolls of victims as community members shared remembrances and gathered support for funeral expenses.
The attack also left behind unanswered questions. Police did not immediately provide a motive or circumstances surrounding the gunfire. As of the initial reports after his death, no arrests had been announced; Area One detectives were investigating, and “no one was in custody,” a phrase that stood like a placeholder for the person or people responsible.
In the days that followed, loved ones described a teenager who brought light to those around him, a life cut short before its contours were fully known. The corner where the shots rang out returned to its everyday rhythm, but the calendar kept an indelible mark: a holiday weekend that ended with a family planning a funeral and a neighborhood waiting for answers.
